


Runaway Heart

by humdrumxheart



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party - Fandom
Genre: Age Difference, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Not Beta Read, Romance, Runaway, Serious, Slow Burn, age gap, dan avidan/oc - Freeform, hand holding, relationship, snuggles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2018-08-08 18:32:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7768657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humdrumxheart/pseuds/humdrumxheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andie McClain: An orphan girl with a runaway heart finds the home she’s never known in Dan Avidan. Can he tame her wild spirit, or will she slip through his fingers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys like this story! The idea came to me and I just had to share it with the world.

As a child, we are constantly told what we can and can’t do. Do this. Don’t do that. We’re always told that adults know best, but as we grow up, we realize that just because we get older doesn’t mean we know what’s right. Age doesn’t determine wisdom. We don’t learn with time, we learn with _experience_.

At the age of eighteen, I was thrust into the world with little knowledge of who I was as a new adult and what I wanted to do with my life. I had few acquaintances, and even less people close enough to call friends. I had no family or known relatives. Where was I supposed to go?

I grew up in foster care. Every now and then, I would be bounced from house to house -- _so-called family to so-called family_ \-- and asked periodically if it felt like home. Every time I was asked, I gave the same answer: “How am I supposed to know what home feels like? I’ve never known the meaning of the word.” Each time I answered, the social worker would sigh and give me a sad smile.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to keep searching,” she would say with tired eyes.

At my current age of twenty-three, I’m still searching for a home. Anywhere I go, I feel unwanted. Even if I find a place that I like, something happens that makes my feet itch to take a run. I take to the streets when the sun slides down behind the horizon, and I don’t stop until the wolf in my stomach cries out in hunger.

This morning, I found myself in Los Angeles. I walked barefoot along some beach watching the sunrise, inhaling the salty air. I was holding my tennis shoes in one hand and my backpack of what few belongings I owned in the other.

My stomach growled, and I flicked my ponytail around to see if any diners or beachside restaurants were open at this time of day. I slung my backpack on my shoulders and made my way to the sidewalk. I brushed my feet off and replaced my running shoes.

I continued down the sidewalk for a few minutes before I noticed a “now hiring” sign on the front window of a small bakery. The open sign was still dark, but the open time on the door said it would open at seven. Checking my old watch that my social worker gave me on my eighteenth birthday, I found that it would be opening in twenty minutes, so I sat my bag down and waited.

I sat on the sidewalk by the window, leaning my head against the concrete wall behind me. I let my eyelids drift shut as I began to hum a tune haphazardly. I tapped my toe to the rhythm of the song I was creating.

I ceased my humming as lightly tapping footsteps jolted me to attention. I opened my eyes and stood, pulling my bag over my shoulder. The short blonde girl was fiddling with her key ring and didn’t notice me standing in front of her store.

“Um... hello,” I cleared my throat.

She jumped, but relaxed when she saw me. “Oh, hello. Were you waiting long?”

“No, I was just out for a walk,” I half lied. “I saw your sign. Are you still hiring?”

“Oh, yes. I am actually. Are you interested?” She smiled brightly at me.

I nodded enthusiastically. “I just moved here, and I’m looking for a job.” I liked the vibe of Los Angeles, and I was running low on money at this point. I figured I might like to stay here -- if not for more than a couple weeks.

“Well, I’d be happy to give you a shot,” she chirped happily. She put a key in the lock on the door and pushed the door open. “Come on in, and we can chat over a coffee and some croissants.”

The animal in my abdomen howled with delight. “That sounds so good right now,” I smiled.

She had me sit at a table near the counter as she brewed some fresh coffee and heated up some croissants that I assumed were leftover from the day before. I didn’t mind. I’ve eaten worse.

“My name is Clara, by the way. I don’t remember if I told you or not,” the girl suddenly spoke.

“I’m Andie.”

“Well, Andie, what brings you to LA?” Clara asked.

“My feet,” I muttered with a small chuckle.

“Huh? I couldn’t hear you,” she asked from the counter.

“I just needed a change of scenery,” I shrugged, ignoring my previous answer.

“Oh, so how long are you gonna be here?” She asked curiously. She had a confused expression on her face.

“I’m not really sure, but I like what I’ve seen so far. I might make this my permanent place of residency,” I lolled my head back and forth as Clara brought over our coffee and croissants.

“Oh, I wanted to ask: what’s with the backpack? Is it a gym bag or something?” Clara sipped her coffee, peering over the edge of her cup.

I hesitated, not wanting to lie to this pleasant girl. “It’s just a… purse.”

I felt a slight pang of guilt. It wasn’t a whole lie; I did keep my wallet in it -- along with a few outfits, tampons, a hairbrush, deodorant, razors, and other essentials for a woman on the run -- but it was basically my whole life in a bag.

Clara’s expression told me that she wanted to say something about my response, but she either decided not to or she couldn’t find the words. “Well, have you ever worked at a bakery before?” She changed the subject.

“I’ve worked at a couple bakeries actually,” I said proudly, choosing to let go of my guilt. “Anything from cakes to doughnuts. I’m pretty good at baking.” I felt like I was bragging, but I didn’t feel like I was _lying._ I was actually pretty good at making pastries. 

“Oh really? That’s good, you’ll need to be handy with a mixing bowl,” Clara smiled, taking a bite of her croissant. “I’m gonna put you to work in the kitchen some, but mostly, you’ll be working the register. You’ll only be in the kitchen when I need some help. It’ll just be me and you for the most part, at least for a little while.”

I nodded, biting into my own croissant. It had the perfect texture -- soft on the inside, but crispy on the outside. “That’s fine with me. I can handle it.”

“Most of my customers are really nice, and they come in regularly. You’ll come to know exactly what they want as soon as they walk in the door,” Clara smiled happily with a little giggle. “It won’t be a hard job, I promise.”

“It sounds chill. I’ve been looking for a job like this,” I said, glancing around the cafe bit of the bakery. Soft pinks and yellows decorated the room. Pictures of small animals next to cupcakes and the like were placed along the walls. It was very cute.

 _I think I’m gonna like it here_ , I thought to myself.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day? I think yes. I like this story already.

A few days later, I was working at the bakery alongside Clara. I liked the job, even though it was slow at times. I got free doughnuts at the end of the day, and it paid pretty well for a bakery job. Besides all of the little perks of the job, there was one big thing that made me excited to come to work everyday.

He was a regular at the bakery. He came in every morning, so I basically had his order memorized. Clara called him Danny. He was tall -- ridiculously tall -- with lanky limbs. His hair was fluffy and curly. It looked pretty much untamable. The best thing about him visiting every morning was his smile. His smile brightened my day. It was so cheerful and boyish.

But this morning was different. When Danny came in, he didn’t smile. He looked tired and depressed. I knew that look well; it was one that I saw in the mirror more times than I would’ve liked.

He slumped onto the counter and ordered “the usual”. I nodded silently, starting to bag up two chocolate croissants. I rang him up as Clara handed him a cup of coffee before returning to the kitchen without a word. She was in the zone and probably didn’t notice the look on his face.

“Is everything okay, Danny?” I asked concerned.

“Long night,” he responded quietly, handing me exact change for his purchase. “Don’t worry about it.”

I didn’t believe him. “Okay, well you know, if you need to talk, I have two ears and perfect hearing so…” I trailed off with a sarcastic grin.

He chuckled, “thanks, Andie.” He grabbed his order and walked toward the door. As he pulled it open, the little bell rang. “I’ll see you ladies tomorrow.”

“Bye, Dan,” Clara called from the kitchen.

I meekly waved goodbye, not uttering a word.

I liked Danny, a lot actually. He was really nice to me. I’m sure he was just nice to everybody, but I didn’t care. It’s good that he’s a nice guy. The only problem with him being such a nice guy is… I don’t have any clue if he even notices my flirting. I tried not to lay it on too thick because it might come off as creepy, but I was starting to feel like he didn’t notice me at all.

That was a silly thought, though. Of course, he noticed me. He knew my name and he knew my face, but it felt like he was purposely ignoring my advances. I wouldn’t say I was in love, but I was infatuated. I just wanted to kiss his face.

Honestly though, the only thing I really knew about him was his name and what he ordered for breakfast every morning. I would have liked to know a little more. I would have at least liked to know what he did for work.

 

* * *

 

At lunch, Danny came back to the bakery. He usually only came for breakfast, but I guess today was different. He didn’t come in alone. With him was a baby-faced guy with brown hair and a woman with pastel pink hair that happened to closely match the walls.

“Aw, this place is so cute,” she looked around excitedly. She was holding the hand of the baby-faced guy. They must be together.

“The food is good, too.” Dan smiled at her over his shoulder before turning to me. He and the other two approached the counter. “Hey, Andie.”

“Hi, Danny. Not usually like you to come in here twice in one day,” I raised an accusatory brow at him jokingly.

He laughed lightly, “yeah, I just can’t get enough of Clara’s delicious pastries.”

“So who’re your friends?” I asked cheerily, looking over at the other two. They smiled politely at me.

“I’m Holly,” said the woman with the pink hair. The way she spoke was adorable. “And this is Ross,” she introduced the baby-faced man with big blue eyes.

“Hi, how are you?” Ross asked politely. He had a bit of an accent, but it wasn’t pronounced enough for me to be able to place it.

“I’m well. What can I get you guys?” I asked.

“Do you have any vegan options?” Holly asked curiously.

“Yeah, we have vegan doughnuts, croissants, and sweet rolls,” I responded quickly.

“Their croissants are the best,” Danny interjected.

“I’ll take two croissants,” she nodded, taking Danny’s suggestion.

“You have jelly-filled doughnuts, right?” Ross asked.

“Yep,” I nodded happily, “strawberry or blackberry?”

“One of each,” he said.

I bagged their orders, while I waited for Danny to decide. When I finished getting their orders together, Danny still hadn’t ordered.

“You want the usual, Danny?” I asked him over my shoulder.

He shook his head, “no, I’m thinking of trying something new.”

“Alright,” I nodded. “How about a cupcake or a slice of pie?”

He pursed his lips in thought. “Pie sounds good.”

“Blueberry, apple, or cherry?” I asked.

“Blueberry.”

I nodded, grabbing a container with a single slice of pie inside. Danny insisted on paying for everyone, so I rang them up together. As the others walked out the door before him, Danny stayed behind. He looked at the tip jar on the counter before slipping a piece of paper into it.

I almost ignored it, but he gave me a wink on his way out. As soon as they were out of view, I reached into the jar and pulled the slip of paper out. On it, a series of numbers and his name.

“Is this his phone number?” I murmured.

“Looks like it,” I heard Clara say over my shoulder.

I jumped, startled. “Jesus, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help noticing the look he was giving you,” she smirked.

“Really?” I asked, genuinely stunned. “You think he was giving me a look?”

“He always is,” she assured me.

“I guess I didn’t notice,” I shrugged. “I always assumed he was just being nice.”

“Well, I’ve been serving him chocolate croissants longer than you have, and he’s never looked at me that way,” she patted my back and retreated into the kitchen.

I felt my cheeks flush as I stared at the slip of paper. I shook my head vigorously, and put the paper into my jeans pocket.


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait. I've been putting in job applications and stuff, so I didn't have as much time to work on it as I would have liked. I finished it though, and that's what matters, right?

The day Danny gave me his number, I went home and immediately put it in my phone’s contact list. I didn’t wanna seem too desperate to talk to him, so I waited until the next day.

That morning, Danny came in for his usual order.

“Why didn’t you text me or something last night?” He asked me with a half-smirk.

“I just moved here, so I haven’t turned my phone back on yet,” I shrugged. It wasn’t a lie, by the way. I had a phone, but it hadn’t been activated for a few weeks. I still could have messaged him because my hotel has wifi, but I wanted to play it cool. “And I kinda thought you gave it to me in case I needed you for something.” I was trying to play it off nonchalantly, but it just came out a little air-headed.

He chuckled, “no, I consider us friends. I wanted to be able to chat with you whenever, ya know?”

 _Friends?_ I smiled a little at the thought, trying not to grin like an idiot. “Really?”

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded, “so whenever you get your phone turned on again, text me. Alright?”

I nodded, “of course, you’ll be the first person I contact.”

It was nice to know that he saw us as friends. I spent the first half of my shift being giddy and grinning like an idiot. I hummed to myself the whole morning, not quietly either. I smiled widely at everyone who came in the door.

Clara noticed, but didn’t say anything until after lunch. “Do you wanna get off early today?”

I whipped my head around to look at her, “what?”

“I know you need to go get your phone activated,” she shrugged. “If you wanna get it done today, you have to go before closing, right?”

I nodded, “that is true. I appreciate it, but I don’t really have the money right now.”

“Well, tomorrow is payday. How about you get off early tomorrow and go then?” She gave me a look over her shoulder, and I could tell that she wasn’t so much suggesting it as she was demanding it.

I smiled, unable to refuse her kind offer. “Thanks, but are you sure you don’t need me tomorrow?”

She waved a hand in my directions mixing whatever batter she had in her bowl, “don’t worry about that. I’ve been on my own since I opened this place. I can handle being on my own for a few hours.” She raised an eyebrow at me.

I supposed that was true, and I mentally told myself that I would stay at the shop if a sudden rush came in before I left tomorrow. I’d feel terrible if a rush came in and I wasn’t there to do my job.

 

* * *

 

The next morning began as usual, with Danny walking through the door at breakfast.

“Hey, Andie,” he greets me directly. He leans on the counter as he normally does. The stance has never gotten to me before, but today, I noticed just how long his legs are.

“Hi, Danny,” I said with a wink. I blushed slightly at my thoughts. “Same as usual?” I asked, reaching for the chocolate croissants.

“Nah,” he shrugged, shaking his head of curls. “I stayed the night at a friend’s house and his wife cooked us breakfast. I just wanted to stop by. I didn’t want you to think I had abandoned you guys.”

I raised a confused brow, tilting my head to the side. “You came by for no reason?”

“No, not really.” He chuckled, “I wanted to tell you good morning.”

The heat rose in my face, and I instinctively turned away. I hoped he hadn’t noticed. It flattered me that he thought of me in the morning. “Well, good morning.”

“Morning,” he grinned cheerfully.

His grin was so wide and happy. The image made my stomach knot up. While I tried to untangle the Cat’s Cradle in my gut, I shifted back and forth on my feet. I picked at my thumbnail, trying not to blush.

“Oh!” I gasped suddenly. “I’m getting my phone activated today.”

“Sweet, be sure to text me when you do,” he smiled again.

I smiled, “I promised you would be the first to know.”

He nodded, satisfied.

He stayed and chatted for a while about music and the weather. Clara was there the entire time, listening in. She never made a peep. Though she was in the zone in her kitchen, I could tell she was still listening in.

Danny didn’t buy anything that morning. He just stopped by to say hello, and he stayed and talked to me until I got a few other customers.

The rest of the shift went by without a single incident, and when the time came for me to get off, the place was like a graveyard -- _completely and utterly deceased._ The entire shift had been slow, as a matter of fact. It was a relatively gloomy day -- off and on rain for hours, with only about twenty minutes of sunshine at lunch -- and no one was in the mood for pastries apparently.

I walked out the door and headed for the nearest phone provider. After an hour or so -- the service was terrible there, but they had the cheapest plan available -- I finally had a working phone again. Since I brought my own phone to the plan, they weren’t going to charge me for the price of a phone, too. Not that they didn’t offer me the “top-of-the-line” model smart phone, I just couldn’t afford it.

Truth be told, I didn’t need it anyway. I didn’t play many games, and I didn’t have social media, so there wasn’t much need for a new phone. My old ePhone from 2012 was good enough for me. I never minded older things, and new didn’t always mean _better_.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slightly longer chapter. I hope you enjoy!

It was a slow day at the bakery. Only about two people came in before three o’clock, and one of them was Danny. Clara had to run some errands, but she promised to be back before closing. She had done most of the baking already. She left a batch of marble brownies in the oven for me to watch. When the timer went off, it was my job to take them out.

We had plenty of baked goods, and absolutely no one to sell them to. That is, until four thirty rolled around.

A girl with two-toned hair walked in, cueing the bell chime from the door. The pink haired girl from a few days before followed in behind her.

“Hi, Andie,” the girl with the cotton candy hair addressed me cheerfully.

 _What was her name again?_ I wracked my brain for an arrangement of letters that represented her sweet self. _Oh, right!_

“Hey, Holly.” I gave her a friendly smile.

I was lucky that I was good with names. It prevented me from having a lot of awkward conversations.

“This is Suzy,” Holly pointed at the girl with the blonde streak in the front of her hair.

“Hi, pleasure to meet you,” Suzy reached a hand out to me.

“Nice to meet you,” I took it softly and gave her a friendly smile, similar to the one I gave Holly. “What can I get you ladies?”

“I heard the croissants here are pretty great, but we were sent on a snack run for the Grumps,” Suzy said with a chuckle, and Holly followed suit.

I didn’t understand the joke, but I assumed they worked together and that was the name they gave to their bosses. I chuckled like I got the joke, but it was very forced.

Noticing my awkward laughter, Suzy spoke again. “Anyway, I’ve been told this place has awesome doughnuts-”

“Ross told her that,” Holly clarified with a smile. “And I’ve been dying to try your vegan doughnuts ever since.”

“And so have the other Grumps,” Suzy continued, “so we’re gonna grab a box of doughnuts.”

“Filled?” I asked inquisitively, reaching for a large, baby blue doughnut box.

“Nah, just regular glazed,” Holly waved a hand, “but I will need a separate bag for a couple of vegan doughnuts if you don’t mind. Just two, please.” She held up two fingers to clarify.

“Yeah, and Danny wanted me to get him a slice of blueberry pie, too.” Suzy added, twirling the blonde streak around one of her fingers.

I nodded, “gotcha.” I began to mumble to myself in thought. “It’ll be seven twenty-eight for the regular doughnuts, two eighty-three for the vegan doughnuts, and one fifty-four for the pie.”

I did some quick math in my head as I boxed up the doughnuts. I had memorized how much most of our well-selling items costed with tax. I had a number for the total in my head, but I waited until I was finished to put the order into the cash register. I wanted to check my math before I gave them a total.

“Eleven sixty-five is your total,” I announced after punching the order into the computer. The number in my head was correct.

Ever since I could remember, I was a math whiz. Very rarely did something ever stump me when it came to numbers. Well, from kindergarten to twelfth grade at least.

Suzy smiled and handed me a debit card. I swiped it in the machine and handed it back. I waited as the receipt printed slowly.

“I see why Dan likes this place,” Holly commented randomly. “The croissants really are quite good.”

“Yeah, Arin and I got an earful the other day when he came over to our house,” Suzy chuckled.

I smiled at the thought of Danny singing praises about our chocolate croissants and blueberry pies.

I handed the receipt to Suzy, who signed it using a pen out of the cup on the counter.

“Do you make all of these yourself or do you have help?” Holly asked, tilting her pinkish head to the left.

“Oh, no. I actually rarely even go in the kitchen,” I shrugged, “Clara -- the owner -- she actually makes all of the pastries herself. She doesn’t let me help much.”

“Oh, why not?” Suzy asked with her brows scrunched together in the center of her forehead.

“Most of the recipes are a family secret. Her grandmother’s grandmother was the one who came up with them -- back when they owned their own bake shop somewhere in Germany,” I told them, giving a little shrug. “Only the women in her family have ever been taught the recipes. Though she did tweak a couple of them to be vegan-friendly, and she is currently working on a few gluten-free options, too.”

“Wow,” Holly awed. “Clara sounds like a busy bee, huh?”

“Yep, she’s off running errands as we speak,” I nodded, leaning on the counter behind me.

“Well, we gotta head back to the Grump Space,” Suzy announced, looking at the time on her phone. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you, too. Come back and see me sometime,” I waved at the two girls as they exited the building.

About the second that the girls disappeared from my view, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a call from Danny, so I waited a few seconds and answered it.

“Hey, Danny,” I chirped.

 _“Are Holly and Suzy still there?”_ He asked from the other end.

“No, they just left,” I chuckled, “and a ‘hello’ would have been nice, too.”

 _“Hello, Andie,”_ he laughed quietly. _“I’m starving. Tell Scuzy to hurry up.”_

I laughed loudly at the nickname, “they aren’t here anymore, I tell you. They literally just walked out the door.”

 _“Okay, well, that’s all I really wanted,”_ Danny said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Alright then,” I smiled, “what are you doing?”

 _“I’m at work,”_ he stated. _“I should probably getting back to it actually. I think we’re almost done for the day.”_

“Oh, good for you,” I rolled my eyes in a faux-sarcastic manner, even though he couldn’t see me.

 _“Hey, I’m off Sunday, and since the bakery isn’t open on Sundays, why don’t you join me and a couple of friends for karaoke that night?”_ He asked cheerfully.

“I don’t know,” I pursed my lips in thought.

I was hesitant to meet new people in this town. I didn’t want to get too attached. Yes, I liked seeing Danny every day, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t still go for a run and never look back.

 _“C’mon, it’ll be fun,”_ he whined.

“Are any of your friends that I’ve already met gonna be there?” I asked hesitantly.

 _“Yeah,”_ he said simply. _“Ross, Holly, Suzy, and Suzy’s husband Arin are going. You haven’t met Arin yet, but he’s a pretty cool dude.”_

I sighed, still unsure of my thoughts toward the activity. “I don’t know, Danny. I just moved here not too long ago, and I’m trying to settle in a little. Maybe another time?”

 _“You don’t have to sing; just come with me. I promise you’ll have fun, and if you don’t, you can slap me if you want,”_ he promised.

I hummed quietly, thinking it over briefly. It would be nice to have a few people to hang out with outside of work. “Okay, you’ve won me over. I’ll come to karaoke with you guys. Text me the details later.”

 _“You got it.”_ I could hear the smile was back in his voice. _“Oh Suzy and Holly just got back. I’ll text you later.”_

“Okay, bye Danny. Enjoy the pie,” I laughed, hanging up the phone.

I had a weird feeling in my stomach, and I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe the thought of seeing Danny outside of work sent my gut into a state of uneasiness. Perhaps it made me nervous that the karaoke thing seemed like a triple-date. Suzy and her husband, Holly and Ross -- who were together for sure, but I didn’t know their exact title -- Dan and myself...

Just thinking about it made my stomach feel weird.


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is twice as long as any of the previous chapters. I worked hard on it, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

Sunday came, and I opted to meet Danny and his friends at the karaoke bar instead of him coming to pick me up. I didn’t want him seeing the grimy motel I was staying at. I didn’t want him to think any less of me for it.

I had to walk there since I had no car. I looked up the address on my phone and followed the directions carefully. Unfamiliar with this new place, I kept my pocket knife in my jeans and a tiny can of pepper spray in my jacket pocket. A woman is never safe on the streets. I tried not to look lost because those kinds of people are easy pickings for crime. You can never be too careful.

Though I identified as a pacifist, I wasn’t afraid to fight for my life if necessary.

I eventually found the place, and I sent a quick text to Danny that I made it. He responded that he was on his way, so I waited outside the building. Not two minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot. I wouldn’t have noticed him if his windows weren’t down with Rush playing on blast and his curls flowing in the breeze.

I smirked to myself and stood up from the curb I was sitting on. I tucked my hands into my jacket pockets and made my way to where he parked. He had just locked his car door when I walked up behind him.

“Hey, you,” I greeted him from behind, poking him lightly in the back to get his attention.

He turned to me with a smile on his face, “hey yourself.”

He extended his arms out for a hug, and I accepted with little thought. My arms went around his middle, my fingertips meeting in the middle of his back. The hug was quick but not bad by any means. He gives good hugs, which was not unexpected. He was such a kind, sweet person that I would find it more odd if he didn’t give good hugs.

As I stepped back from our friendly embrace, I moved my hands back into my pockets. “So are your friends here yet?”

“No, but they’re on their way. They won’t be long,” he shrugged.

“Cool…” With nothing else to say, I looked around at our surroundings.

It was late afternoon, and the sky was just starting to tinge pink. A man was sitting at a bus stop just across the street, and a dog was barking somewhere in the distance. It was a faint rattle of noise but audible enough to hear. The air smelled of smoked meat -- likely barbeque -- coming from a restaurant down the street. There wasn’t really anything notable to use as a conversation starter.

I moved my gaze to look at Dan to find him staring back. I hadn’t realized that he was watching me, but it made my face go hot like the sun when our vision connected. The air between us grew tense, though I couldn’t place why. I struggled to fight back the lump in my throat -- to find some words to break the silence -- but I couldn’t force even a single breath out of my lungs.

“Hey, Andie!”

A sweet, lilting voice broke through our personal, suffocating silence. I leaned to the right, looking past Dan. Suzy was walking toward us, waving and holding the hand of a tall, beefy man -- the man, I could only assume, was Arin. As they got closer, I realized Arin had a blonde streak matching Suzy’s.

“Hey, Suzy,” I waved back with a smile, silently thankful for her calling out to me when she did.

They came up to us, and Dan hugged Arin. They must be close. I figured they all worked together, but I could see they had a closer relationship than just work friends. They were buddies -- bros, even. Dan and Arin exchanged greetings, and Dan hugged Suzy, too. They were all close.

Suzy then turned to me, outstretching her arms to me. I accepted her offering, stepping into a hug. She was friendly to me, even though we had only talked once.

She stepped back and looked down at my top. “You look cute; I like that shirt,” she complimented my black tee shirt with a skeleton posing like Audrey Hepburn. “It’s adorable. Where did you get it?”

“Oh, this? I… don’t really remember. I think I got it from a mall or something. It might have been some kind of novelty shop,” I looked down at the shirt. It was so long ago that I truly didn’t remember. “Sorry, I bought it so long ago.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, but it really is so cute,” she smiled. “Oh, this is my husband Arin. Arin this is Andie.” She introduced the taller man to me. He was tall like Dan, but he definitely was more stout than him. He also had more facial hair.

“Hello, nice to meet you,” I reached a hand out to him.

He shook my hand, giving me a friendly grin. “Thanks for the doughnuts.”

I giggled, “no problems. I take it you enjoyed them.”

“Oh yeah, they were great,” he nodded.

“Awesome, I’ll be sure to tell my boss,” I said proudly.

“Are we still waiting on Ross and Holly?” Suzy asked Dan.

“Yeah, they’ll be a little late. Ross text me earlier that we should go ahead and get a table,” he told her.

“Oh, did they say why they were gonna be late?” Arin asked.

“I think it had something to do with Holly’s pigeons.” Dan shrugged.

“Holly has pigeons? Like… _pet pigeons?_ ” I asked, baffled. I had never heard of anyone keeping a pigeon as a pet, and from the sound of it, Holly had multiple.

“Oh yeah, she has like thirty-five now -- maybe more. She rescues and adopts them,” Suzy told me.

“Aw, that’s kinda sweet actually,” I cooed. I had never been the type of person to want a pet bird, but I didn’t hate them. I actually enjoyed watching them; it’s rather calming. I didn’t know pigeons could even be domesticated, and sweet Holly has thirty-five of them. “Where does she keep them all?”

“She and Ross built this little hut behind their house that has little boxes and crates for them to nestle in. It’s really cool,” Dan answered my question. “They call it a pigeon loft.”

“That’s cool. I wonder if she has pictures,” I thought aloud. “I really wanna see it with all the pigeons inside.”

We stood chatting for a few more moments -- about nothing in particular -- before heading inside to grab a table. The place wasn’t full, but there were a lot of unrecognizable faces. A woman was on the small stage at the back of the medium-sized room, singing loudly. She wasn’t too bad, but she wasn’t necessarily spectacular either.

After we all sat down, we got back to chatting. I took it as a good opportunity to learn more about them all.

I turned to Suzy. “So what do you do for work?” I asked casually.

“I have a YouTube channel, where I do reviews, unboxing, and a little modeling. It’s mainly like fashion, and beauty type stuff.” She shrugged.

“Oh, I thought you all worked together,” I said, tilting my head in confusion.

“Well, we kinda do.” Suzy started to explain, “you see, Arin, Ross, and Dan are on a channel together called GameGrumps. They play video games. There’s also a few other guys that are on the channel with them. Holly and I join them sometimes, too.”

“Oh, does Holly have a channel, too?” I inquired, genuinely interested.

“Oh, for sure. She does cosplay, videos about her birds, and stuff like that,” she clarified.

“Cosplay, I’ve heard of that. It’s where you dress up like a character, right?” I sounded like a child being told a bedtime story. I didn’t have much to do with the internet; it would be hard to without a computer and a reliable phone. I knew vaguely that people made a living on the internet, but I didn’t know there was a whole culture.

I continued to ask Suzy questions about her YouTube channel -- I even downloaded the YouTube app and made a Google+ account so I could subscribe to her channel, along with GameGrumps.

Eventually Holly and Ross showed up, and everyone decided that they should pick their songs. I opted out of singing, as did Holly. I wasn’t shy, but I didn’t feel like singing.

Suzy went up first from our table. While she sang her song -- I didn’t hear the name of it, but it was an upbeat tune -- I asked Holly about her birds. She told me about her pigeons and how she keeps one of them in the house.

“Aw, First Officer Feathers. That’s so cute.” I cooed at her choice of name.

“He wears little diapers, too.” She told me, pulling out her phone. “Here, I have a picture.”

The picture showed a dark feathered pigeon wearing a blue and purple diaper. I cooed over the picture as Suzy returned to her seat -- with Arin cheering louder than anyone else in the room -- and Ross went up to the stage. After him, it was Arin’s turn.

Our whole table was having a good time cheering each other on. I was only paying half attention to most of the song selections, so I couldn’t name any of them. However, when Danny went up to the stage, I paid closer attention, lending him my ear.

He sang an older song, one that I had heard before -- _Separate Ways_ by Journey. I never paid much mind to newer songs, but I could get down to the classics. I liked the music of the eighties, though I wasn’t even born yet. It’s what I heard a lot of when I did my pass through the southeast region of the country -- classic rock and country music.

Dan’s singing voice was higher than I would have expected, but not bad. His voice was actually soothing, and somewhat sweet. I found myself tapping my foot to the song. When he finished, I clapped vigorously with everyone else as he came and sat back down next to me.

“How was it?” He asked me directly.

“I liked it,” I nodded. “There’s a special place in my heart for that song. It reminds me of Tennessee.”

He raised a brow at my response. “Why Tennessee?”

“Well, I travel a lot, and I stayed in Tennessee the longest of all the places I’ve been since I left the or-uh-since I moved out.” I stopped myself from saying the word. Whenever I said that word, people got sad. They would always give me this pitiful look. I hated getting that look. I quickly continued talking, hoping he didn’t notice. “I had like a two year fling with a cowboy.”

“A cowboy?” He sounded amused.

I nodded, smiling on the memory. “Everything was going great… until he proposed.”

“So you said no?”

I nodded once more, “yep, and then I packed my bags and hit the road. I’m not really the marrying type. I was still young. I can’t be tied down like that, and it would have been wrong of me to say yes anyways. I just didn’t feel the same way, you know?”

Dan nodded, leaning back in his chair. He didn’t say anything, just continued listening intently to my story.

“Anyway, I walked down the road for a couple hours, and around sunset, I came upon this little rundown biker bar in the middle of nowhere. It was a couple weeks after my twenty-first birthday, so I figured ‘Hey, I’m gonna go have a drink to celebrate my not-marriage.’” I said with a casual tone. “I was sitting at the bar with a beer in my hand, talking to the bartender about life. Bartenders are the best listeners, by the way. That’s half their job, so they’re really good at it.” I briefly switched subjects.

Danny chuckled at me, but continued listening. I watched how his lips curled into a wide smile. It really was a bright smile.

I snapped myself out of it, reminding myself that I was in the middle of a story. “But I was sitting there, and everything was pretty quiet. Then, this song comes on -- that song -- and it felt so appropriate. I listened to it, like _really_ listened to it, and I kind of fell in love with it.”

“Why’s that?” He asked, finally speaking again.

“I’m always traveling. I’m kind of like a gypsy; I just can’t stay in one place for too long,” I explained, “I’m always severing ties and moving on to the next place. It spoke to me.”

Dan looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He kept quiet, and gave me this puzzling look. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

In an effort to lighten the otherwise dark mood I had created, I spoke again. “I’m searching for a place to settle down. So far, I like LA a lot. It seems promising.” I shrugged casually, looking down at the table.

That’s where the exchange ended between Dan and I, and we joined in on the chit-chat with the rest of the group.

When everyone was ready to leave, it was just getting dark. I had planned to walk back to the motel, but when Dan realized that I didn’t have a car, he insisted on driving me. The car ride wasn’t quiet, but it was uncomfortable. Danny sang along to the radio the whole way to my motel, and I would tell him where to turn. Both of us refused to look at each other, and neither of us made an attempt at conversation.

The car pulled up to the front of the little roach motel where I was staying. I thanked Danny for driving me, and got out of the car. He said nothing as I closed the door. I approached the door to my room, not desiring to look back. I got inside and locked the door behind me.

 _Bzz bzz._ My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, and saw a message from Danny: _Eventually, you’ll find you’ve run out of places to run to._

I sighed heavily, resting my forehead on the door in front of me. Only then did I hear his car drive away.

“I blew it.”


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked hard on this chapter, and it's extra long. I hope you guys enjoy!

I thought about not going into work on Monday. I thought about quitting. I even thought about going for a run like I normally would, but I didn’t. 

I stayed because the thought of not seeing his face on Monday morning made my stomach hurt. I wanted to see him, even if he would be mad at me for something. I didn’t even know for sure if he would show up at all. Maybe he was so mad at me that he would avoid the bakery all together.

I walked to work the next morning in a rather detached mood. I wasn’t paying particular attention to my surroundings as I went along, just trusting my instincts to get me to work. My brain had switched into a state of disinterest. I couldn’t bring myself to be nervous about facing Danny, and I couldn’t bring myself to care too much to run to the next place if I got the old itch. 

This state of mind was something I had developed over time. It was as if my body and mind go into autopilot. If I didn’t care, nothing could hurt me, and it was indeed very hard to hurt me. This is what made it easy to leave people behind. 

I just didn’t understand what made Danny so upset with me in the first place. It’s not like he caught me in a lie; everything I told him that night was true. If anything, he should thank me for giving him a heads up. I usually didn’t miss the people I’ve left behind, but I had never met anyone like him. I didn’t want to feel bad for telling the truth. I wasn’t going to let him guilt me into feeling bad for warning him of the inevitable. 

I wanted to face him and explain myself. Maybe work wasn’t the place for that, but if he wouldn’t hear me out there, I would call him that night.

As I rounded the corner to the bakery, I saw that the front window was busted out. I carefully stepped on the broken glass to get through the doorway. Inside, Clara was sitting on the counter where the register used to reside. She had her phone pressed to her ear. 

“No, it was after business hours, so no one was here when it happened… no, no one was injured,” she looked so sad and disappointed. I’ve never seen her in any other mood than chipper and happy. “Yes, I’d like the police to come by… okay, thank you so much.” She hung up the phone and looked up at me with sad eyes. 

“Clara, what happened?” I asked, looking around at the damage. The floor was covered in glass, and the two tables near where the front window used to be were overturned, their chairs bent and broken on the floor beside them. 

“I came in early to make some stuff that I knew we would be short on, and I saw all of this,” she sighed heavily, following my gaze to the sea of broken glass beneath my feet. “Someone broke in last night. They drove a car through the front window and stole the register. I watched the security video already.”

I shook my head in disbelief, “did they mess with anything else?” 

She shook her head, “no, but I ran some raccoons out earlier. They must’ve smelled the baked goods in the case and come in through the broken window.”

“So what are we gonna do? I’ll help anyway that I can,” I told her, carefully walking over to the counter she was sitting on. I put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

She took a deep breath, slumping back into position. “Well, the police are on their way, so we probably shouldn’t touch anything until they finish taking photos and stuff. After that, we need to clean out the cases because I don’t know how much the raccoons may have touched. They were inside the case, so there’s a good chance that none of it is any good anymore.”

“Then we can sweep up this glass, too,” I added, looking once more upon the ocean of clear shards scattered upon the floor.

She nodded, “that, too. I need to go by the insurance office after we finish cleaning this place up.”

Clara seemed defeated, but I knew she would pull through. It would take about a week to get the insurance company to pay for a new window, but that wasn’t too extremely bad. The worst part was that we would be out of business until the window gets fixed and the register was either recovered or replaced. A week out of commission could be a killer on a business, but our customers were loyal, so I was confident that they would understand. 

The police showed up a few minutes later. They took pictures of the damage, watched the security tapes, and asked us questions -- none of which I had the answers to. Clara could only answer so many questions because she watched the security tapes. Neither of us were present when it happened, so we knew very little about  _ what _ happened. 

I was told to stand outside after the cops finished speaking with me so they could take more photos. I noticed a few of our usual customers came to get their breakfasts, and they ended up making a crowd on the sidewalk. In the front of the crowd, I could see a familiar head of fluffy brown curls.

“Danny,” I called out to him. 

He looked up from the shattered glass on the ground. His face was contorted angrily, but his expression softened slightly when our eyes met. I made my way over to him.

“Andie, what happened?” He asked quietly, pulling me to a less crowded section of sidewalk.

“Someone broke in last night,” I told him simply. “They drove their car through the front window, stole the register, and bailed.”

He raised his eyebrows at me in concern. “Are you okay? Is Clara okay?”

“We’re both fine. Clara is a little bummed, but she’ll pull through. Neither of us were here; it happened around midnight.” I shrugged, shaking my head in defeat. “I don’t think any other store on this street was attacked. The cops think it might have been a customer -- even if it was just a one-time customer -- but they were wearing masks. Clara and I couldn’t see their faces so we really have no idea who they could be.”

He crossed his arms, and looked me straight in the eye. He was really concerned; I could see it on his face. “What are they doing about it?”

“The cops? Well, they’re dusting for prints and all that good stuff, so hopefully they’ll find something,” I shrugged, “they just don’t have a whole lot to go on at this point.”

“So what are you guys gonna do about the window?”

I sighed heavily. “Clara has to go to the insurance office after the cops finish their business to see about getting it fixed, but we’ll be out of business for a while. We can’t really operate with a blown out window, glass all over the floor, and no register. The busted window also let some raccoons in, so we have to clean out all of the baked goods and make new ones before we can start back up anyway.” 

“Wow, that really sucks,” he shook his head, finally breaking eye contact to look down at the ground. He looked back up to me with a smile, “don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you both are okay, but where am I gonna get my chocolate croissants now?”

I smiled for the first time today. Danny really had a comforting air about him when he smiled. “I’m sure you’ll find a new place, but only until we’re operational again. I won’t be happy if I find out you’re going behind our backs to eat someone else’s croissants.” I waggled my pointer finger at him jokingly. 

He threw his hands up in mock defense. “I wouldn’t want that.”

I laughed lightly, noticing how he squinted his eyes whenever he smiled. 

“Hey, do you wanna go grab a coffee or something?” He asked seemingly out of the blue. 

“Huh?” I smiled, tilting my head slightly in confusion. His question took me by surprise, and I thought maybe he was still mad at me so the effect was doubled.

“I figured you had a weird morning, and you could use a coffee -- if you want to, of course.” He clarified for me.

My first instinct was to smile and accept, but I stopped myself short. “Can I get a raincheck? I told Clara I would help clean up the shop when the cops left.”

“Yeah, sure. Another time, for sure.” He nodded, still smiling -- I could tell he was disappointed but didn’t want to show it. He wasn’t good at hiding his emotions; they were written all across his face.

“I’m sorry. How about tomorrow? What about lunch?” I suggested with a smile. If he wasn't  angry anymore, I didn’t want to question it. It was just nice to see him smiling at me again.

“How about dinner tonight?” He smiled happily, hitting the ball into my court. He was pushing his way past my walls, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I crumbled. “Sure, dinner sounds great. Nowhere too fancy, though. I don’t feel comfortable in places like that -- too stuffy,” I shrugged. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he grinned, nodding at my request. 

“Then, it’s a date,” I nodded back.

Danny wished me luck and asked me to give Clara his best wishes before he left the scene of the crime. He called out a ‘see you tonight’ as he went. 

It wasn’t long before the police left as well, and the crowd of civilians followed suit. Someone came and put a piece of plywood over the missing window as a temporary cover from the elements. Clara went to clearing out the contaminated food, while I swept up the shattered remains of the window. We got the job done fairly quickly, and Clara was on her way to the insurance office in no time. 

With nothing left for me to do, I went back to my hotel. I searched through my small amount of clothes for something I could wear to dinner with Danny. The humble collection of outfits I owned were mostly comprised of  jeans and t-shirts, a few pairs of underwear, and some pajama shorts. I decided on a distressed pair of jeans and a plain, white tee. I also had two jackets to my name: a light blue windbreaker and a slightly warmer leather jacket. In the winter, I would layer both on top of each other for extra warmth. However, since I found myself in LA in early September, I decided on just the windbreaker. Finishing the look off with a pair of sneakers and a touch of eyeliner, I felt satisfied with my outfit. 

I waited around my hotel room, watching Holly’s videos -- Stardew Valley being my favorite series -- until Dan interrupted my viewing experience with a text message. The message read:  _ I’ll be there to get you around 5:30. Will you be ready? _

I sent him a quick affirmation, especially since I had been ready for hours. I got up from the mattress and walked into the small, adjacent bathroom. I curled my hair quickly with my cheap curling iron, braiding my bangs back so they were out of my face. I left the rest of my hair down, grazing the top of my shoulders. 

I checked the time; Dan wouldn’t be there to pick me up for another fifteen minutes. I sat back down on my bed and started up another video. When five-thirty rolled around, I started making my way out to the front of the building. I locked my door and walked down to the sidewalk.

Not a minute after, Danny pulled up to the curb. He got out of his car, and walked around to the passenger side, leaning against the door. He twirled his keys around his pointer finger and smiled at me. “Ready to go?”

I smiled down at my sneakers and walked over to him, “I guess so.” I looked up at him with a grin. 

He pulled the door open with a wave of his hand. “After you, milady.”

I chuckled lightly, moving to take my throne in the passenger seat. “Thank you, good sir.” I gave a small curtsy before sitting in the car. 

I heard him laugh as he closed the door behind me. He came around the front of the car and retook his place in the driver’s seat. 

“So where are we going?” I asked, having trouble curbing my excitement. 

“Brave and Duster’s,” he replied simply. 

“Oh, I’ve never been. Is it fun?” I tilted my head in interest.

He raised a brow, “you’ve never been to Brave and Duster’s?”

“Nope, never,” I shook my head. “I didn’t want to go alone, and I never had anyone to go with.”

“Well, now you're going with me, and we'll have a ton of fun.” He smiled out the windshield as he drove. 

“Promise?” I teased, admittedly sounding a bit like a kid. 

“I promise,” he nodded. 

“If you're wrong, do I get to slap you if I want,” I giggled, recalling what he told me when he asked me to go to karaoke. 

He continued to smile, “sure, but it will be fun.”

I decided to take his word for it. I sat back in my seat and stared out the window, watching the city blur by. People on the sidewalk looked like they were running at top speed from my side of the glass. That in itself was a foolish thought; of course, they weren't the ones moving quickly. 

“So…” I said out of the silence. The radio wasn't on, so it felt weird to be in the car without conversation. 

“So..?” He responded, sounding off-put and confused. 

“Are you still mad at me?” I asked him, not daring to face him. According to the reflection on the window, he didn't look at me either. 

“I was never mad,” he shrugged. “I was more or less disappointed.”

That time I looked back at him, “why?”

He kept his gaze on the road. “You implied that you weren't planning on settling down anywhere, even though you said you liked it here. I got to thinking what if something happens, and you don't want to stay here anymore? What will be the next place you run to?”

He made a good point. I had no response, so I stayed silent. I held my breath, waiting for him to scold me. 

“Then, I got to thinking that if you did decide to leave this city, I wouldn't have any right to stop you,” he shrugged, glancing over at me briefly. “All I would be able to do would be to ask you to stay, and even if you said no, you’ll still have my number when you leave, so I would hope you'd call. I know I would miss you if you left, and Clara loves having you around. Suzy and Holly would miss you, too.”

“I would miss them,” I admitted under my breath. The silence had returned, and the guilt set in. How many other people have I left missing me? How many others have I left behind? I'd lost count. 

I felt a warmth on my knee. I looked down at the source; Danny had placed a hand on my leg. It felt slightly comforting, and I smiled. I placed my hand on top of his. 

If I did decide to leave at some point, at least Danny would still want to be around. 

The rest of the car ride was silent, just as it had started. It wasn’t an awkward silence. It was comfortable and easy. Danny hadn’t removed his hand from my knee, and my hand still rested atop his. We sat like that in quiet contentment until Danny pulled the car into the parking lot of Brave and Duster’s. 

He took the key out of the ignition and jogged around the front of the car to my side. Just as I unbuckled my seatbelt, he pulled the door open, offering me a hand. “We have arrived.” His smile was piercing my heart, leaving a warm feeling in my chest.

I grinned, taking his hand and stepping out of the car. “So we have,” I replied in a regal tone. 

He held out his elbow for me to take, and he escorted me across the parking lot. My stomach was stirring with excitement… and also growling with hunger. Just as we were through the door, Danny turned to me and asked, “what do you wanna do first?”

“Shove food in my face,” I laughed. “I’m starving.” I rubbed my stomach in a circle, smiling up at Danny. 

He returned my smile, ushering me to the restaurant portion of the building. I was hyper aware of his fingertips gently touching my lower back as he guided me through the building. 

We found a table and a waitress came by to take our orders. I got a burger with pepperjack cheese, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. Dan got some kind of chicken pasta and a soda. We engaged in small talk until our food came. 

“So where did you come to LA from? I don’t think I’ve asked before,” Danny asked, twisting noodles around his fork.

I sipped my milkshake in thought. “I’m not exactly sure what city I was in… I think it was somewhere around Pasadena. I was only there for like a day or so. The atmosphere was all wrong, at least for me. Before that, I was in Arizona, I caught a bus and rode it all the way to Cali.”

“And here we are,” he smiled, but it seemed just a bit forced. “So where are you from originally?”

“I was raised in a foster home for abandoned kids just on the state border between Kentucky and Tennessee, and as soon as I turned eighteen, I got the hell out of dodge” I shrugged, “I was found on the doorstep of a fire station, and they took me to the nearest orphanage. Whoever dropped me off there didn’t leave a note or anything. That’s fine, though. I’m over it. It would be stupid of me to be hanging onto something like that twenty-three years after it happened.”

He nodded, a mouthful of pasta. He didn’t speak, just looked intently at me, which I took as a sign to continue with my life’s story.

“Anyway, the head lady at the orphanage named me since I didn’t have one -- Andrea Alice -- not sure where she got that name, but it makes me cringe to be called by it. Don’t take advantage of that information either -- it’s Andie to you, mister,” I laughed, popping another fry into my mouth. “I have a last name, too, but I don’t use it. I don’t have a lineage to belong to, so I have no attachment to that name.”

I wanted to believe that Danny wasn’t bothered by the idea of me leaving, but I couldn’t help feeling that he was. He told me that he had let it go, but I had known enough people in my life to understand body language. It was the small things I picked up on: the way he tapped his finger on his fork when I talked about crossing a state border, the way he avoided eye contact when I said a city didn’t feel right, and so on. I knew it made him fidget, so I changed the subject.

“I’ve talked enough about myself. What about you?” I raised a fry to my lips. The salt and ketchup flavors mingling on my tongue.

“What  _ about _ me?” He repeated me, basically asking what I wanted to know. His scarred brow was raised in speculation.

“Did you ever travel?” I asked him, biting into my burger. 

“Yeah, I went to France once to study flowers of the French Alps,” he nodded, shrugging nonchalantly. 

“Wow, how was it?” I gaped. I had never been out of the country before, so I wanted to hear everything he would be willing to tell.

“I didn’t learn anything about flowers if that’s what you’re wondering.” He laughed lightly, his smile casting a warm aura. 

I smiled and continued to ask him questions about his life. After telling me about his parents and how they met, he played a couple of voicemails from his dad for me. I giggled so hard my cheeks hurt from smiling. 

We finished our meals, and I offered to pay for mine, but Danny wouldn’t hear it. “My treat. You spent the whole day cleaning up glass, so I’m gonna treat you,” he explained with a smile, handing money to the waitress. “Keep the change,” he told her.

She thanked us as we got up to leave. Danny grabbed my hand in his, pulling me to the arcade. I willed my palms not to sweat, feeling the heat radiate off of his skin. I blushed lightly, trying to focus on my surroundings instead of Danny’s hand. 

He pulled me to the arcade area. He gestured widely, sweeping his long arm in front of us -- the one that wasn’t holding my hand. “What do you want to do first?” He asked me with a big smile. His eyes almost twinkled in the flashing game lights.

“Skeeball,” I nodded, “I’m so badass at skeeball.” My smile spread wide to match his.

He nodded, “skeeball it is then.”

We made our way to a massive row of skeeball lanes; there were ten lanes and at least six of them were taken. I smiled and took my place at one of the lanes. Danny handed me my arcade card (that he paid for), and showed me how to swipe it. The peg fell and eight balls rolled into place. I took off my jacket and tied the sleeves around my waist in preparation. I grabbed the first ball excitedly, winking over my shoulder at Danny. He was watching me, anticipating my first roll.

“Watch the pro,” I snickered, turning to the lane. I aimed and rolled, putting a slight spin to the ball. 

The ball flew over the ramp and landing in the cup, the machine releasing a loud  _ Bink! Bam!  _ Ten thousand points! 

I turned to Danny, placing a hand on my hip. I made a finger gun with the other and blew the imaginary smoke from my fingertips. 

“You’re so stupid,” he laughed at me. 

“Says the loser,” I sighed dreamily, dramatically flipping my hair. 

He shook his head and took to throwing his own balls. I did the same, throwing the other seven down the lane. Twenty thousand… thirty thousand… forty thousand… each ball sank into the cup worth ten thousand points, one after the other. A grand total flashed across the display atop the machine: eighty thousand points! 

The machine spit out tickets like crazy, stacking them up like cordwood on the thinly-carpeted floor. I smiled with self-satisfaction, putting my hands on my hips and puffing my chest out with pride. I looked over at Danny’s lane; he was on his last ball, lining up his shot. I glanced at his score -- almost twenty thousand points. 

With his last ball, he lands the ten thousand cup. He had only a fraction of the amount of tickets I had. He looked over at me with a big pouty lip. I laughed at him, nudging his shoulder with my palm. His lips cracked into a grin, shining brightly in the arcade lights. 

Danny picked the next game: air hockey. We were in a deadlock for the entire game, but in the end, Danny came out the winner. After bouncing around the arcade for a while, we found ourselves facing off in Veggie Samurai. That game was really fun, but didn't give out tickets, so we quickly moved on. I wanted a cool prize to take back to my hotel, so I could remember the evening. By the end of the night we had over five-hundred tickets to our names.

“I think we should split them evenly and get two prizes,” I suggested. We were walking hand-in-hand to the ticket counter after spending all of our arcade credits. 

Danny bobbed his hand back and forth, his curls bouncing between his shoulders. “I'm okay with that, but we could put them together and get something really cool.”

I nodded in agreement, “okay, but are we gonna trade it off? How would we even do that?” 

“I don't know. We'll figure it out,” he shrugged simply. 

We walked up to the counter and decided on a prize worth our five-hundred tickets. Our choices were either a giant, inflatable hammer that squeaks when you hit things or an assortment of giant stuffed animals. 

“Ooh! The purple frog! Let's get the purple frog!” I begged Danny, tugging his hand like a small child. 

He laughed heartily at me and pointed to the frog. The counter attendant grabbed the large hook and picked up the purple frog from the top shelf, handing it to Danny, who was still smiling widely. When he handed it to me, I was -- admittedly -- a bit more excited about the plush frog than I should've been as a twenty-three year old, but I never really had stuffed animals as a child. 

“Aw, it's so soft! I love it!” I cuddled the frog happily. 

“Cool, I'm glad you like it,” he smiled, grabbing my hand again. 

We walked to the car together. Danny opened the passenger door for me again, waving me inside. I smiled and took my seat. I buckled my seatbelt and stroked the furry frog in my lap. Danny joined me in the car, and I turned to him with a smile on my face. 

“Thanks for tonight,” I said quietly. The radio still wasn’t on, so I knew he could hear me. “I had a lot of fun.”

He nodded, smiling widely (as he does often). “I did, too. We should do it again sometime.”

“Definitely,” I agreed, hugging the frog plush to my chest.


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is cliche. I'm just writing what I feel like writing, and I felt like some ludicrous cuddling was in order. 
> 
> I'm not trying to update on a schedule or anything. I'm literally just squeezing any writing time into my schedule when I feel like it and whenever I have a free moment honestly. At the time I started this story, I was unemployed, but now that I have a job, I don't have as much time as I did previously. That means simply that chapters will be uploaded whenever I have time to finish them. Since only a few people probably keep up with this story, they probably won't even notice. They probably have other stories they follow.
> 
> Anyway, since no one asked and no one cares, I hope you enjoy the chapter! <3

I walked down a dark hallway alone, looking around and seeing nothing but the walls surrounding me. Lights flickered dimly above my head as I looked for any sign of an escape -- a door or anything at all. My stomach knotted, and I broke out into a run. The ground beneath my feet felt like a treadmill. I was moving, but I failed to go anywhere.

After what seemed like an eternity, I could make out a human form at the end of the hall. I picked up my speed, nearly tripping over myself. I tried to yell out to them, but my voice was muted. Not a single peep escaped my throat. Suddenly, I hit a glass wall, nearly falling backwards onto my butt. I banged on the glass to try to get the attention of the person just on the other side.

The person looked over their shoulder; they were faceless and had no distinguishable features. They were more of a mannequin than a person. Even though they had no face, I could feel their icy grin as they walked away, leaving me to my silent prison behind the glass wall.

I continued to scream, but my voice was muted still. I couldn’t hear myself, but I could feel the muscles in my throat tightening.

“Andie! Andie, wake up!” I heard a voice. A soft voice was calling out to me. It sounded worried. “Andie!”

I shook awake, looking into a pitch black room. I sat bolt upright, frantically looking around. I couldn’t see a thing, and I didn’t know where I was. That only terrified me more. Was I still stuck in the nightmare?

“What… where am I?” I asked in a near whisper.

A light clicked on, and I found myself in an unfamiliar room.

“Andie, are you okay?”

I turned to the voice. It was Danny. Why was I with Danny? I didn’t remember; all I knew was that I was thankful not to be alone anymore.

“What happened? What’s going on?” I asked running my hand through my knotted hair.

Dan padded his feet across the carpet and sat on the edge of the bed opposite me. “I was hoping you could tell me,” he sighed. “Are you okay?” He reached a hand out to my shoulder.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. I was covered in sweat, and I could feel my muscles trembling. “I have no idea. I was having a really bad nightmare, and honestly, I’m a little bit shaken.” I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself.

Dan gently caressed my shoulder comfortingly. “You were yelling loud enough for me to hear in the living room, so it must have been pretty bad. Do you remember what it was about?”

I shook my head, “no.” I lied; I remembered the empty halls and the faceless person as though I was still in the dream. Vividly. “But I’ll be okay.”

My mindset suddenly changed, “wait, why am I here? And where is here?” I looked around, and not only the physical look of the room was unfamiliar, it also smelled strangely. It was a detail I commonly noticed about other people’s homes.

“You don’t remember?” He asked me, scarred eyebrow raised.

My eyes widened, “we didn’t… _have sex_ … did we?” Not that that would’ve been terrible, but I would’ve liked to remember it if we did.

He laughed lightly, “no, of course not.” He turned to look at me straight on. “I wouldn’t do that on a second date. We came back here -- my place -- for a drink after we left Brave and Duster’s. Admittedly, we probably drank more than was necessary. I didn’t think it was safe to drive, and you were ready to go to sleep, so I loaned you some shorts and a tee shirt to sleep in. I slept on the couch, so nothing like that would happen.”

“Okay, good,” I sighed. That would explain why the sheets smelled like him. “Well, I probably won’t sleep anymore tonight. What time is it anyway?”

“Like three in the morning,” he shrugged. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“And you don’t remember anything about the dream?” He persisted.

I thought hard. Maybe if I tell him something about the dream, he’ll drop the subject. How much should I share? “I just remember a faceless person. It scared me. I kept trying to scream, but I couldn’t hear myself.” I half-lied to him, feeling a bit guilty.

Danny nodded, “that would explain the screaming I heard. You were trying to yell so hard in the dream that you screamed out loud.”

“Sorry if I woke you.” I hugged my knees again, avoiding eye contact. “You can have your bed back, too. I probably won’t get any sleep after that dream.”

“I can stay up with you,” he offered, “I have Netflix in here. We can just watch something until you go back to sleep. I’ll go back to the couch after you do.”

I had to admit, it sounded appealing. “Okay,” I nodded. We sat back, leaning against the headboard. Danny let me choose the movie, and I just chose a random title. I wasn’t super interested in the flick, and instead, I tried to go back to sleep. I didn’t want Danny to be up too long with me, in case he had work in the morning.

I eventually felt my eyes droop shut, my head following shortly after. I felt my head resting on something soft. I knew it wasn’t a pillow, but I didn’t want to move.

I wasn’t fully asleep when the rustling started. Whatever I was laying on started moving beneath me. I grumbled, somehow stopping the movement.

I heard a soft voice follow, “Andie, are you asleep?”

I responded sleepily, “mhmm.”

I heard a soft chuckle. “Okay.”

I felt myself being gently adjusted. The tv was switched off, and the room was quiet. I was almost asleep before I heard a creaking noise and sat up.

“Danny?” I called out helplessly. He stopped in the doorway, but didn’t turn to look at me. I saw his silhouette pause to listen. “Stay. Please.” I whispered in a small voice.

“Sure,” he closed the door, and I heard a soft shuffling noise grow closer.

The mattress dipped, and I knew Danny had joined me on the bed. I softly lowered myself back onto the pillow. I looked in the direction of the door, where Danny had laid on the bed. He wasn’t facing me, but I knew he wasn’t asleep yet.

My stomach stirred as a feeling overtook me. I slowly scooched toward him, placing my hand on his tee shirt covered back. He went rigid, but tried not to show it. He continued to pretend to be asleep, opting to stay silent.

I placed my forehead between his shoulder blades, taking in his scent. I smiled to myself, “goodnight.” I whispered it so quietly that it was hard to hear myself.

After a few seconds of silence, I heard him respond. “Goodnight.”

His body relaxed, and I allowed myself to fall asleep again.

 

* * *

 

I woke up with something warm next to me. I blinked my eyes open to see something close to my face. After letting my brain wake itself up, I realized the _something_ in front of me turned out to be _someone._ A familiar someone. I rubbed my eye with my hand.

I looked around the room, catching a glance at the alarm clock. It was eight in the morning, and Danny was still asleep. Did he have to get up for work? When did he have to be at the Grump Space?

I heard rustling on the other side of the door, and got up carefully as not to disturb Danny’s sleep. As I crossed the room to the door, I looked over my shoulder to see his peacefully sleeping face. I carefully opened the door, hoping that it wasn’t creaky. I opened it only far enough to slip out into the hallway and looked around.

The house I was in was vaguely familiar to me. I remember Dan driving us here after our date, but the memory is fuzzy. I remembered where the living room, kitchen, and hall bathroom were located relative to the front door, but I didn’t remember walking to the bedroom I had slept in.

Come to think of it, I didn’t really remember changing clothes either. Danny said he lent me some shorts and a shirt to sleep in, which I noted to myself happened to fit me pretty well. The shirt was a little long and came to my upper thigh, but the basketball shorts fit me quite comfortably.

I shook my head to return to reality, and walked down the hallway. I found myself standing in the living room. Looking around again, I saw a man standing in the kitchen, staring into the fridge with his back turned to me. I was startled at first, but then I remembered Dan said he had a roommate.

I considered staying quiet, but it might have been weird for him to find me in his house, creepily watching him from the next room.

I walked into the kitchen, opening my mouth. “Hello, you must be Barry.”

He looked up at me startled, but then he smiled. “Yeah, and you’re Andie. We met last night.”

My face screwed up in confusion. “We did?”

“Yeah, I came home after a date shortly after you two did. You might not remember because you were both enjoying a drink. Dan introduced us,” he shrugged.

I nodded, “okay. It was nice to meet you either way.” I pulled out a chair at the breakfast table and sat down. “So how do you know Dan?”

“We work together,” Barry answered simply.

“Oh, I should have guessed that,” I laughed lightly at myself. I hadn’t gotten around to watching their channel because I was busy watching Holly and Suzy’s channels. I made a note to watch the GameGrumps channel soon to learn more of the members. “Do you guys have to work today? I can go wake Dan up if you do.”

“No, just me.” He grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and sat it on the counter as he spoke to me. “I have some editing to do, but Dan doesn’t have to go back in until tomorrow. Do you want some juice?” He looked at me as he reached into a cabinet to grab a glass.

“Sure,” I smiled.

Barry sat a glass in front of me and poured the yellow-orange liquid into it. He poured himself a glass, and put the bottle back in the fridge. He sat down at the table with me, and we engaged in some light chatting.

Soon, Danny came into the kitchen and stretched. “Morning,” he yawned.

“Morning,” we both replied.

Danny reached for a banana on the counter, and peeled it open. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

“Hey, weird question: where are my clothes?” I asked Dan, and Barry almost drowned in his orange juice. He was mid sip when I asked, and he must have found it humorous.

“Shut up, Barry.” Danny smiled, “the bathroom, where you left them.”

I nodded, “great.” I stood and gulped down the rest of my orange juice. I placed the glass in the sink, rinsing it out. I traveled down the hall to the bathroom. I quickly changed and pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

As I was walking back down the hall, I could hear the boys talking from the kitchen. I decided to stop and listen. They were speaking in a hushed tone, so I knew it was probably about me.

“She’s pretty cute,” I could make out Barry’s voice. “She’s nice, too. I think she’ll be fun to have around.”

Then, I heard Danny speak, “yeah, that’s what I’m hoping.” They both went quiet, but after a second of silence, Danny spoke again. “Did you hear her yelling last night?”

“No, you know I sleep like a rock,” Barry murmured.

“She kept yelling for me,” Danny told him. “I think she was having a nightmare, and she called for me.”

 _I was yelling his name in my sleep?_ I questioned myself silently.

“Like she woke up and started calling you, or was she asleep?” Barry asked him, sounding confused.

“She was dead asleep,” Danny responded.

“It probably just means she trusts you,” Barry stated simply, “she probably thinks of you as her protector. Even if she doesn’t consciously think about you that way, that’s probably how her mind processes your presence.”

 _Really?_ I thought to myself. _I guess I do trust Danny. Our friendship -- or whatever we are -- is kind of all over the place. I guess I trust Dan. If anything, the last eighteen hours proves that more than anything._

I banished the thought from my head because my stomach was starting to stir. I felt knots tying themselves in my intestines.

“Maybe…” Danny trailed off and they went quiet again.

I waited a few seconds to make sure they wouldn’t start talking again before I started moving again. I took a deep breath, and walked down the hall to the living room.

“Hey, Danny, since you don’t have to go to work this morning, could you drive me back to my hotel?” I asked sweetly. My stomach still felt queasy, but I tried my best not to let it show on the outside.

I padded my socked feet across the room to the couch, which I had left my sneakers beside. Next to them on the floor was my giant purple frog; I was surprised I hadn’t taken it to bed with me the night before.

I stepped into my shoes and bent down to tie them. I looked up at Dan in the kitchen because he hadn’t answered me. “I need a shower, and then I’m gonna call Clara and see if she needs any help with the window.”

Danny smiled slightly, “sure. Let me go change.” He walked down the hall, into his room, and shut the door behind him.

“He likes you a lot,” Barry mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear.

The sentence made my stomach stir again, so I pretended not to hear him. I sat down on the couch, waiting for Dan and clutching my frog. Slight anxiety ran through my chest as thoughts simultaneously surged through my brain.

“Ready?” Danny’s voice broke my thoughts, but failed to calm my anxiety.

“Yes,” I nodded nervously, standing from the couch.

We walked across the living room to the front door. Danny grabbed his keys off of a little hook mounted on the wall, and held the door open for me.

“Drive safe,” I heard Barry call from the kitchen as Danny shut the front door behind us.


	8. VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's been a while huh? To those of you who were waiting on this -- hopefully there were at least a few -- here is chapter eight. It's been in the works for a while, but I finally had a chance and the inspiration to finish it. I've been having a writing kick. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!!  
> xoxo, author.

Danny’s car came to a halt in front of my hotel, and I unbuckled myself from the seat. I opened the car door, and without a word, Danny followed. He walked me to my door, and I stopped to look at him.

“I had a lot of fun,” I smiled.

“Anytime you wanna go out again, you have my number,” he shrugged. “I really enjoy spending time with you.” He seemed to pause, his eyes flashing all around my face.

“I do, too... with you, I mean.” I smiled wider than before, brushing a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear. I had a passing urge to lean up and embrace him, but I refrained. I wasn’t sure why I hesitated, but I did.

“I’ll see you later,” he said softly.

I stepped toward him suddenly, wrapping my arms around him. I didn’t want him to leave. He did the same, wrapping his long, skinny arms around my upper waist. I wouldn’t consider myself short at five foot seven, but he was still taller than me. Our embrace was brief but not meaningless. As we both stepped apart, I looked up at him.

“Thanks for bringing me back to my hotel,” I said somewhat bashfully.

He shrugged, “no problem. I couldn’t just let you walk home. By the way, I’ve been wondering. Why do you stay here? Are you having trouble finding a more permanent place to stay?”

“I told you before, didn’t I?” I scratched the back of my neck anxiously. I knew he didn’t like to hear about it. “I have a tendency to up and leave on a whim. Plus, I don’t really make enough at the bakery to get a decent place around here. Even Clara lives out of town a bit. The cost of living around here is as high as giraffe puss, and I wanna stay in the city. I like it here.” I shrugged as if it were obvious, and to be truthful, I thought it was.

“Well…” he hesitated. “Never mind. Uh, do you want to come by the Grump Space one day soon if you're not busy? You know, since the bakery is out of commission for a week.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, and watched my expression as though he was studying me.

I tilted my head in thought, biting my lip. I wasn't sure it was a great idea to get too attached to anyone else who works there. I like to keep the number of people I leave behind as low as possible in case I do decide to leave, but I know it would mean a lot to Danny. “Yeah, just let me know what day, and I'll come by. I don't want to come by if I'm gonna be in the way the whole time.”

“We only have to work a few hours tomorrow. Like maybe three hours, four tops. How about then?” He smiled slightly.

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Let me call Clara and ask her if she needs any help tomorrow. If not, then it's all set.” I nodded, shrugging. I secretly hoped she would need my help, if only so I didn't have to meet anymore people.

“Okay, so if it's all good, I'll pick you up? Then after work we can get lunch maybe.”

_Oh. He wants me to tag along at work for the whole day. I get it._

“Yeah, sure. Only if Clara doesn't need me,” I told him again. I really didn't mind hanging out with Danny, in fact I enjoyed his company, but I couldn't help the feeling that he was doing this all on purpose. He was purposefully making me spend time with him, and in turn, it made me **want** to spend time with him. I was beginning to feel… _cornered_.

“Great! Just let me know after you get in touch with Clara,” he nodded, turning to leave. He threw up one hand and waved. “I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

I waved goodbye as he got in his car and drove off. I turned around and unlocked my door with the little silver key in my pocket. I walked in, closed the door, kicked my shoes off, and flopped onto the bed. I sighed heavily, which turned into a loud groan. I threw my hands over my eyes.

“I need to go for a jog,” I said to no one.

* * *

 

I could feel my feet pounding away at the sidewalk, the loud taps blasting in my ears. My chest was getting tight, and my skin was constantly tickled by the wind. I had been jogging for hours, and I finally decided to stop for a breath.

I looked around, enjoying the new scenery, and I began to wonder if it was time for a change of pace. Maybe all I needed was a new perspective from a new balcony, a new place to call home. My thoughts went silent for a split second before a familiar face came forward from the back of my mind. His smile made me think otherwise.

I decided to make a call. “Hey, Clara?”

“ _Hey, Andie. What’s up?_ ” Clara’s chipper voice rang through the speakers.

“Not much, out for a run. I just remembered I was gonna call you earlier.” I tried to keep my breathing even.

“ _Oh yeah, what about?_ ” She asked curiously. “ _You got my message earlier, right?_ ”

“Yeah, yeah, I did. You said you were at the insurance office, and you didn’t need any help today.” I nodded as I repeated her message. I was sure she wouldn’t need my help at the shop tomorrow. “That’s not what this call is about though. I need an opinion.”

“ _Okay, hit me._ ”

I took a breath, “Danny wants me to go to work with him tomorrow. Should I go?”

“ _Wait, didn’t you two just spend two nights in a row together?_ ” She asked skeptically.

“Yes, and that’s why I’m asking.” I placed a hand on my hip, my breath finally normalizing. “So what do you think?”

“ _Honestly, I think he really likes you, and you guys have been spending a lot of time together. What’s a couple more hours?_ ” She stated in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

I nodded biting my lip, “you don't think I might end up being in the way? There are other people working there, and I don't want them to think of me as a nuisance.”

“ _If Suzy and Holly are there, I'm sure they won't mind having you around_ ,” Clara’s ever-optimistic attitude was infectious, and I didn't mind possibly getting a chance to hang out with them again.

“Alright, you've convinced me,” I smiled slightly. “I can't imagine why he would want me to go to work with him though. Isn't that odd?”

“ _Yeah, but Dan’s a weird guy. Don't think too hard about it. The point is he likes you, he wants you to like his friends, and he wants to show you where he works. Embrace it_.” Clara had a way of justifying the weirdest things. She saw the bigger picture instead of the minute details.

“You're right,” I sighed, “thanks for the advice. I'll talk to you later.” We said our goodbyes, and I shoved the phone back in my pocket.

I turned toward the direction I came from and began to jog back to my hotel.


	9. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andie visits the Grump Space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long! It's really long though, so maybe that makes up for it. It's actually almost 3,000 words, and probably the longest chapter I've written in a very long time. Also, I'm getting into the good part of the story with this chapter and the next, so bare with me. This story is a slow burner, but I'm already making progress on the next chapter. Enjoy!

Dan had sent me a message saying he was on his way over to my hotel, and I was buzzing around my room in a nervous fit. Every few seconds, I would walk to the window and peek out of the musty curtains to check for his car. In between trips to the window, I took a few brief steps to the bathroom and checked my makeup. I had already met some of the people Dan works with, but that wasn’t why I was fretting. I wanted to look good for Danny. It was an embarrassing thought that I would never admit to anyone but myself. 

Just as I was about to check the window again, a sturdy knock rang out from my door, startling me in the smallest bit. “It’s me, are you ready?” It was Danny, of course.

“Yeah, let me grab my phone,” I called out. I had my phone in my pocket already, but I didn’t want it to seem as if I was waiting by the door. I waited ten seconds, and reached for the door handle. Pulling it open, I smiled. “Hey, good morning.”

I stepped out, pulling my door shut and locking it behind me. As soon as I turned around to face him, Danny threw an arm over my shoulders and escorted me to his car. 

“So what’s the office like?” I ask innocently, making conversation to distract me from the warmth of his arm.

“It’s more like a warehouse that we renovated the inside of. It just looks like a plain old warehouse on the outside. Totally ordinary.” He described to me the outside of the building with sparse detail. 

“And so the inside is just like a regular office?” I asked another innocent question. 

He removed his arm from my shoulders and I immediately noticed the tingling sensation on my skin where it had been resting. “Oh, no. On the inside, it’s like a completely different vibe.” He sounded excited, looking at me with his sweet grin. He opened the car door, and I climbed inside. He closed the door behind me and walked around to the driver side. He climbed in the car as well, starting the engine. We both put our seatbelts on, and he pulled away from the curb. 

“So what is the inside of the office like?” I asked as Dan merged into traffic. 

“It’s kinda hard to explain,” he started. “Everyone has their own little section of the office, and every part is decorated differently. You’ll just have to see it. It’s really cool.”

“Okay,” I muttered with a slight smile on my face. I turned my head to stare out the window as Danny began singing to the music on the radio. 

After a few minutes, I turned my attention back to him. I watched his face as his eyes watched the road. I took note of how his lips moved as he sang. I savored in the sound of his voice. My lips perked up into a smile. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I heard Danny chuckle. He was still watching the road. 

“Oh, was I staring?” I giggled, my cheeks burning. “I guess I didn’t notice. I was just listening to you sing. You really enjoy it, huh?” I was making a desperate attempt to change the subject. Luckily, it worked. 

“Yeah, ever since I was a kid.” He smiled widely. 

I hummed in thought for a moment. “I just realized, I’ve never actually listened to any of your music.” I pointed out absentmindedly. 

“Wow, feelin’ the love, Andie,” he feigned offense, putting a hand to his heart. He laughed it off. 

I lightly smacked his arm, “you know I didn’t mean it that way. Truth be told, I’ve been curious. I just wasn’t sure if it would embarrass you that I’m watching your videos.” 

He shook his head, giving a little shrug. “Not really. I think I’m more flattered that you’re interested.”

“I admire that. I feel like I’d be so embarrassed.” I smiled to myself. “Not that I’ve ever done anything worth showing off, but if I did, I’d be embarrassed to show it to people.”

Danny gave a little nod, “because you’re modest.”

I chuckle a little. “I don’t know if I would use the term modest, but for lack of a better word—yes, I’m modest.”

We both go quiet, only the radio filling the empty space between us. Danny began humming. I began to absentmindedly tap my feet and hands to the beat of the music. 

“Oh, hey. I started watching Game Grumps,” I said casually. “So I have been watching some of your stuff.” 

“You like games?” He asked in response. 

I shrugged, looking out the window. “Never really been interested in actually playing them, but I like the stories. Does that make sense?” I looked back to him. 

His lips wore a small smile, “yeah, I’m sure a lot of people feel that way.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I  _ will _ play a game if it interests me, but I can never finish them. I don’t have the skills,” I laughed a little. 

He chuckled in response. “So what videos have you been watching?” 

“I like King’s Quest!” I said excitedly, then suddenly I caught myself. “It’s pretty chill, I mean. I think King’s Quest 6 is my favorite. There’s a lot of cute storybook references in it that I really appreciate.”

He went quiet, but as I looked at him, I saw he was smiling. “You went pretty far back, huh?”

“Well, I saw your solo play through of Space Quest—that’s what lead me to the King’s Quest playlist—and while it was super relaxing to watch, I’m not huge fan of sci-fi. I’m more into the medieval theme,” I shrugged to myself, oddly feeling the need to justify my opinion. “I really like the happy-go-lucky style that the King’s Quest games have. I can’t explain it properly.”

I noticed Dan was smiling even wider to himself, and I started feeling slightly bashful out of nowhere. 

“Stop smiling like that.” I giggled nervously and blushed profusely. 

“I’m sorry,” he laughed, covering his mouth with one hand. “You’re just so funny.”

“What do you mean?” I raised a brow, slightly amused by his tone. 

“You change attitudes so quickly. You’ll be so cool one minute, and then you’ll get so excited the next.” He kept his eyes on the road while he talked. He rested one hand on the wheel, leaning his chin on his free palm. 

“I can’t help it,” I covered my cheeks with both hands. “I don’t get excited about much, but when I do, I get carried away so easily.” I turned my face toward the window, feeling the heat rise up in my skin once again. 

“Well… it’s cute,” Dan muttered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders slightly. 

I refused to look at him after that because my face was beet red. I stared down at my shoes for the rest of the ride. Danny remained quiet as well, not even humming along to the music. 

When we arrived at the Grump Space, it looked just how Dan said: a plain old warehouse. He got out of the car, hurrying over to my side. I reached for the handle, but he beat me to it. 

“Welcome to Maison de Grump,” he grinned in a bad French accent. 

I gave a small curtsy as I exited the vehicle, “thank you, it’s lovely.” I was desperately trying to mask my nervousness with humor, hoping Danny wouldn’t notice my sweaty palms as he took hold of my hand. He lead me to the front of the building, and I happily followed along. 

“Wait,” I stopped as we approached the front door. I placed a hand on Dan’s upper arm. “Are they expecting me? I’m not gonna be in the way by randomly showing up, right?”

“Too late now.” Dan reached for the door handle. 

I stopped him again, “Dan!” 

“I’m kidding. Of course, everyone else knows,” he chuckled, placing a hand on top of mine. “Stop worrying.” 

I sulked in defeat. I wanted any excuse to avoid what was making my stomach curl into tight knots. It was too late now. Danny swung the door open beckoning me inside. I nodded, slinking into the building with Dan in tow. He reached up to grab my hand, probably seeing how nervous I was. I turned to look at him as our skin came into contact. He squeezed my hand with a small smile. I smiled back and he pulled me into what looked like a common room. 

“Hey, everyone! Andie’s here!” Dan announced to all four people in the room. 

I waved awkwardly, still holding Dan’s hand. “Hi everyone.”

I only recognized one face out of the four that were in this room. Ross stood up to come greet me. “Hey, what’s up, Andie? Did you bring snacks?”

I shook my head, calming down a little. “No, did Dan not tell you? The bakery was broken into. The owner is trying to get everything up and running again as we speak.”

“Damn,” Ross sulked. “Want me to show you around?”

“I got it.” Dan cut in, shutting down the idea. 

“Thanks for the offer,” I smiled politely. 

Dan began introducing me to the people in the common room before continuing to give me the tour of the rest of the office. The decor was heavily influenced by Japanese culture, which Dan informed me was Arin’s idea. I liked it though. There was something very comfortable about it—very welcoming. 

After seeing the bar area and the walls of amiibos, Danny brought me to Arin’s office. He knocked lightly on the door before walking right in. 

“Hey Arin, I brought Andie,” he announced. 

Arin was sitting at his computer doing what looked like answering emails. He turned his head toward us as we entered. “Hey, Andie. What’s up? You like the office?” He asked me with a smile, getting up to give me a welcoming hug. 

“Yeah, I like it a lot,” I nodded as he released me from the hug, feeling a little more at ease. 

“If you ever wanna come by and hang out, just let me or Dan know,” he informed me with a light pat on my shoulder. 

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” I smiled politely. I had no intention of intruding on their work any more than I already had. I only did today because Dan assured me I wouldn’t be in the way. 

Arin accompanied Dan and I around the remainder of the office, continuing to lead the tour himself. I had a hard time focusing on the tour because Dan had his fingers laced with mine the whole time. The way his thumb was rubbing light circles in my hand made my head cloudy. 

When we reached Suzy’s desk, she had headphones on and didn’t notice us approaching. Arin tapped her shoulder, and she removed her headphones. She looked up to us with a sweet smile. “Hey Andie!” She stood up to give me a hug, “I thought you were coming tomorrow. I must have lost track of the day.”

I shrugged, smiling back at her. As soon as I released her from my hug, Dan laced his fingers together with mine again. He really wasn’t planning on letting my hand be without his for too long. 

“Did they give you the tour already?” Suzy asked me. 

“Yeah, it’s really nice.” I put my free hand in my pocket. 

“Well, I was just editing one of my videos, but I can hang out with you when I’m done. I’ll keep you company while you wait for them to finish. Unless, Dan has something in mind for you to do?” She looked to Dan, who shrugged. 

“I’m fine with that,” he smiled at Suzy and then at me. “You were saying how you wanted to hang out with Suzy and Holly more.”

I nodded, “I did say that.” 

“Great!” Suzy cheered, clapping her hands together. “Well, I’ll finish up, and meet you…” she trailed off. She looked at her husband, “in Arin’s office. He has that comfy little sitting area where we can do some girl chat without being bothered.”

“Feel free to grab a snack or explore while you wait. The fridge has beverages, and we have snacks in the kitchen. We’ll break for lunch in a couple hours,” Arin added. He patted me lightly on the back. “Just get comfortable.” 

Suzy smiled at me, “yeah, I’ll be done here in like… 10 minutes?” 

“Okay, I’ll get comfy then,” I nodded to them both. 

Dan squeezed my hand discreetly before releasing it. “Alright, Andie, we’ll be done in a bit.” He pulled me into a small hug before walking with Arin to the room where they record episodes. 

Suzy had sat back down with her headphones on, and I decided not to bother her. I wanted to walk around a bit, and really get a good look at the place. The decor was awesome. 

As I was walking around, I noticed someone coming in the door that I hadn’t noticed earlier. A man with salt and pepper hair was just walking in the office. As I stared at him curiously, he noticed me, and we locked eyes. He had an intimidating, icy stare. 

I smiled sheepishly from across the room. I guess he took that as a sign to approach me because that’s exactly what he did. 

“Hi, you must be Andie,” he smiled at me. “I’m Brian. I’m in the band with Dan.”

Then, it clicked. I nodded in realization, “oh, Ninja Brian!” I held out my hand to shake. Dan had mentioned him to me before, but he’s not what I would have expected. Except for his glare, I mean.

Brian took my hand, shaking it firmly. “Nice to meet you, Andie. I’ve heard a lot of things from Dan.”

I winced, “good things, I hope.”

He laughed a little, nodding. “Yeah, he’s very fond of you.”

My cheeks heated up at the comment. I didn’t say anything, I just smiled awkwardly at him. Either he didn’t notice, or he’s the same as Ross allegedly is--he just likes fucking with people. 

“It was nice to meet you, but I have work to do,” Brian told me, completely ignoring my awkwardness. “I’m sure Arin has already told you to make yourself at home.” With that, he walked away.

I decided to stop exploring at that point. All of Dan’s friends were lovely, but I was feeling overwhelmed. I’ve never been much of an introvert before, so this feeling of wanting to be alone and breath for a second was kind of new to me. 

I made my way to Arin’s office, slinking in the door, and collapsing on his sofa chair. After a few moments of me staring at the ceiling, Suzy walked in. 

“Scoot over,” she commanded, closing the door behind her. I did as she said, and moved aside. She sat down on the lounge beside me. “So tell me, what do you think of Dan?”

“Wow, jumping right into the gossip, huh?” I laughed. 

She smiled, “well, I want the details. I can’t get anything out of Arin, and no one else knows anything.”

“If it’s gossip you’re looking for, Barry probably knows something since they live together,” I pointed out. 

“Well, they do, but not for long,” she corrected me. 

“What do you mean?” I scrunched my brows together. 

She raised her eyebrows. “I thought Dan told you Barry was getting a new place?”

I shook my head immediately. “I didn’t see any boxes when I was there the other day.” 

“Oh!” Suzy perked up. “I knew I’d get something out of you, I just didn’t think it would be that easy.”

“Oops,” I mentally punched myself. She was staring at me expectantly, and so I went ahead and explained. “Dan and I went on a date, and then we went to his place and drank afterwards. I stayed the night. Nothing happened.” The last part was stated quickly, so there would be no jumping to conclusions. 

“Well, that’s interesting. Did you guys have fun?” She asked, seeming amused.

“Yeah, I mean, I did at least,” I shrugged nonchalantly. 

“So you like Dan? Like in a romantic way?” She pressed me. 

I thought for a second, and then a sudden, gentle knock rang out from the door. Ross poked his head in, “Suz, your computer has an error message on the screen. I thought you should know.”

“Oh, dang it. Thanks Ross,” she said to him before turning to me. “I’ll be right back, I have to go check on this.”

“Work stuff, I got it.” I waved her on as she got up from the chair and scurried out the door. I sighed as the door closed behind her. 

I stared up at the ceiling once more, getting myself lost in thought over Suzy’s question. _Do I like Dan in a romantic way?_ _He’s funny, and insightful. He’s really sweet to me, and I always wanna see him. He’s also been really affectionate toward me, which I kind of like. Maybe I do like him that way?_

After this thought crossed my mind, Suzy came back into the room. “Sorry, the program had a small bug. I managed to fix it though.”

“Oh, good.” I smiled nervously. Something about the realization that I see Dan in a romantic way made me feel slightly anxious. 

“So?” She sat down next to me again. “Do you like Dan or what?”


	10. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Andie have a nice lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to post this forever ago, but life happened and I got really busy. Sorry about that, but it's up now for those who were waiting. I actually have been working on future chapters too, and I've been in a writing mood lately. Hopefully, chapter 11 won't take as long. I'm also working on others stories too, so if you read my other stuff, get excited about that!

After a few minutes of girl chat and gossip, Suzy and I started sharing information about ourselves, and I found I could relate to her on many things. Maybe I couldn’t relate to her hobbies or background, but we shared a lot of the same opinions. We stayed in that room and chatted away the time. Before we knew it, there was a strong knock on the door. 

Arin pokes his head in the door. “What’s up, girlfriends? Talking about boys?” He imitated a girly voice, which made us both giggle a little. 

“We were just getting to know each other a little better,” Suzy explained. 

“I’d like to get in on that,” a familiar voice said suggestively from behind Arin. Dan’s face popped up over Arin’s shoulder. 

“You’re such a dork,” I rolled my eyes, smirking. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Are you guys done? I’m kind of starving.”

“Me too,” Suzy agreed, nodding vigorously. 

“Yeah, we’re done for today. We just had to finish up one game before the weekend, so that it could be edited in time.” Arin stepped into the room completely, moving to sit at his desk. “We have other stuff to film tomorrow, so we had to get caught up. The rest of the day Ross and Brian are doing Steam Train, so we really had to get this done this morning.”

Dan came into the room as well, sitting on the arm of the chair behind me. He decided not to elaborate any further on the state of their work, and instead asked, “what are we getting for lunch?” He placed a hand on my shoulder nonchalantly. He didn’t squeeze my skin or move his hand at all; it just rested there. I stiffened a little, looking at Suzy with wide eyes. 

She smiled cheerfully back at me. “Well, Arin and I were planning to get Panda Express.”

I shrugged, “I can’t eat there. Their food upsets my stomach.”

“Same here,” Dan added with a chuckle.

I looked up at him, sitting behind me. He craned his neck down to look at me when I spoke to him. “So what are we eating?”

“What do you want?” He asked, staring down at me with his big brown eyes. 

“I don’t know what’s good around here to eat,” I stated, looking back at Arin and Suzy, who were looking at each other with big dumb grins on their faces. It’s like I could read their minds:  _ They’re so cute. _ I’d know that look anywhere.

“Go to Panera,” Arin suggested. “They have good sandwiches, and their broccoli and cheddar soup is really good this time of year.”

“Oh, I’ve never been there,” I awed, intrigued. I looked back up to Dan, who was smiling. “Let’s go there.”

Dan smiled. “Alright, Panera it is.”

The four of us walked out to the parking lot but parted ways when we got into our respective vehicles. Dan called out a goodbye to  _ Big Cat  _ and  _ Scuze _ , which I realized were Arin and Suzy’s nicknames respectively. 

I sat in Dan’s passenger seat, watching Suzy and Arin leave the lot before us. 

“I love your friends,” I told him. I looked over at him as he was putting on his seatbelt. “Suzy is a peach, and everyone is so friendly. None of them feel like strangers.”

Dan laughed and shook his head, “that’s just how we are. We really lean on each other.” After that statement, came a long pause. Then he spoke up again. “I hope you’ll eventually start referring to them as your friends, too.”

I nodded, smiling to myself. I don’t think I’ve ever in my life had someone I can truly lean on up to that point, so the thought made me almost giddy. 

A sudden thought occurred to me. “Oh, I met Ninja Brian. I don’t know if he told you.”

“Yeah, he told me.” Dan laughed, “sorry if he said anything weird.”

Maybe Brian had told him how hard I was blushing when he brought up Dan. “He didn’t,” I assured him. “He seems really nice.”

He nodded in response. “He’s a really good dude… and he has the cutest kid.”

We left it at that as Dan pulled out of the parking lot. The drive was short and filled with the music flooding out of the radio. We soon pulled up to Panera and got out of the car. 

“So what are you gonna eat?” I asked him as he opened the door for me. I walked into the building, and he followed closely behind. 

“Hmm… ya know, I think I’m gonna get a sandwich and some soup.” He said thoughtfully, looking up at the menu board. 

“That sounds good, maybe I’ll get a sandwich and a soup, too.” I nodded in agreement. 

“Can get your order?” A bubbly girl asked from behind the counter. 

“I’ll get a half chipotle chicken and avocado sandwich and a bowl of the broccoli and cheddar soup,” Dan ordered his food first. 

The girl smiled widely at him, batting her lashes. “Good choice!” She exclaimed rather excitedly. “The chipotle chicken is **so** **good**.”

She was clearly flirting with him. It didn’t really bug me, and Dan seemed to be totally unfazed by it as well. 

“Oh and two drinks, please,” he asked her, slightly leaning on the counter. 

“And I’ll have the grilled cheese with a cup of the tomato basil soup,” I added after a moment of her staring at Dan silently.

She seemed to snap out of her daze with a light blush. “Okay, and will you be paying with a card?”

“Yes ma’am,” Dan nodded politely, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. 

I nudged him in the ribs a little. “When are you gonna let me pay for your food?” I asked him with a chuckle. 

“I wasn’t planning on it, but if it means that much to you, next time we go out I’ll let you pay.” He chuckled at me as he swiped his card. 

As the cashier girl handed him the receipt, she gave him a flirty smile. He took it from her with a simple ‘thank you’ and then turned away. He reached for my hand, and I could see the girl glare at me. 

I leaned into Dan’s shoulder, whispering, “that girl is totally into you.”

He nodded, “yeah, I noticed that.” He chuckled down at me with a smile. “How old do you think she is?”

I shrugged, “she can’t be older than like 19 if that.”

“I’m 39, so I’m  _ literally _ twice her age.” He chuckled again. 

I knew Dan’s age, but it just then hit me how much of an age gap there was between us. 

After getting our drinks, we headed to find a table. I followed Dan to a booth by the window as my thoughts swirled around in my head. 

“Hey, Dan,” I said suddenly as we sat down at the table. 

His eyes were already on me, “yes, Andie?” He smirked. 

I smirked back at him, resting my chin on my hand. “Do age gaps bother you in a relationship?”

He shrugged. “Not really. Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m closer to that girl’s age than I am to yours,” I stopped smirking. “I was just wondering if age gaps actually bothered you that much when it comes to dating.” I sat back in my seat, looking him in the eye. It was a pretty forward question, but I was curious about his stance. 

He smiled, “to me, it only matters how I feel about a person, but I do think it’s an important topic to discuss before jumping into a relationship with someone younger than me.” He looked at me seriously, leaning forward on the table. “As long as the person I like is legal, it’s not a big deal to me.”

“Well, I don’t mind that you’re older than me honestly. I’ve always had a thing for older guys,” I started to smirk again. 

“Is that so?” He smiled, tilting his head. He ran a hand lazily through his hair, making it stand up in a weird position. 

I grinned at him. “Yeah, it is so. I’m not sure if I ever actually told you how old I am—I’m 23, by the way.”

His eyes widened briefly, “aw, you’re just a baby!” He teased me with a laugh. 

I blushed, “oh my god, ew! Don’t say that!” I laughed loudly, letting out a small snort. 

He grinned ever wider. “But you are! That’s like 15 years between us.” He laughed, no doubt enjoying the pink tinge on my cheeks. 

“I’ll have you know I’m a fully grown woman, thank you.” I laughed obnoxiously. “But I will call you daddy if you like,” I winked jokingly in his direction. 

He shivered a little with a look on his face that said he was cringing really hard at my comment. “Please don’t call me that.” He shook his head, laughing. 

Suddenly, the number for our order was called, and Dan got up to go get it. When he came back, I smiled up at him. He sat down in front of me and gave me my food. 

I started eating, dipping a corner of my grilled cheese into my soup. “Mmm, wow.” 

“Is it good?” Dan smiled at me before lifting his own sandwich into his mouth. 

I nodded, “Yeah this soup is really good. What about your sandwich?” I dipped my sandwich again. 

He moaned quietly, his mouth full. “So good.”

We ate our food happily, chatting away about some funny things that happened while Dan and Arin were recording. I listened to him speak and found myself really enjoying my lunch. After we finished eating, Dan thought it would be fun to go back to his place and play some video games, which I was one hundred percent down for. If I was being honest, I didn’t quite want to say goodbye just yet. 

As we walked through the threshold of Dan’s place, I noticed all the boxes stacked by the far wall. 

“Huh, so Barry really is moving out,” I stated. “He also wasn’t at the office. I was hoping to say hi.”

“Yeah, he’s leaving the company,” Dan sounded kind of sad. 

I frowned, “I was under the impression that he liked working with you guys.”

“I do,” I heard another voice suddenly speak from behind me. I turned to see Barry carrying another box out and adding it to the stack. “I love working with all my friends, but I just feel like it’s time to pack up and move on.”

“Oh, so are you moving out of state?” I asked him, honestly curious. 

It felt kind of weird to have just started to get to know Barry, but he was already potentially leaving my life. Ironic. 

Barry shook his head, however. “I’ll still be around. I’m just gonna be doing my own channel. I want to be able to focus on my own creative projects.” He put his hands on his hips, looking at the stack of boxes. “Besides, it’s about time I get out of Dan’s hair.”

“I never told you I wanted you out of my hair, buddy,” Dan spoke up from his seat on the couch. 

I chuckled, “he does have a lot of hair for you to be in.” Barry smiled but didn’t say anything in response. I sighed, “dang, now who’s gonna be here to say good morning to me when I have a hangover and don’t know where I am?”

Barry laughed at this comment. “Like I said, I’ll still be around. I’ll just be in a different place, working on my own stuff.”

“I’m proud of you Barry,” I said encouragingly. “You’ve really got your shit together.” I nudged his shoulder, making him chuckle. 

“Thanks,” Barry smiled at his feet before looking up at us again. “I’ll get out of the way, and head back to my room. I’ve got some other stuff to pack, and then I’m gonna head to bed.” He started walking down the hall toward the back part of the house. 

“Goodnight, Barry,” I called out to him. 

“Night,” he responded. Then, I heard his door close, and the house fell silent. 

I turned to Danny. “So what kind of game are we playing tonight?” 

“I have Mario Kart,” he suggested, smiling widely. 

I shrugged, “sounds like fun.”

I sat on the couch as Dan rose from his seat, crossing the room to the TV stand where a Wii U was hooked up. Dan grabbed a Wii remote and tossed it to me. Then, grabbing the gamepad, he turned on the console and started the game. We played a few warm-up rounds on team battle before getting into a Grand Prix. 

After a tense few races, Dan and I had tied. Right before the last race began, I looked at him. “This last race is for all the marbles.”

He laughed loudly at my comment but added no further comment. 

The race started, and we were neck-and-neck for the first two laps. Then, as I came around the last corner, I was struck by a green shell. Dan zooms past me and steals first place. I ended up coming in third. 

Dan laughed, throwing his hands up into the air. “Danny wins!”

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. “You suck. I almost had you. Who even threw that green shell?”

“Me. I threw that,” he pointed at his chest. 

“Dammit, the one time you have decent aim, it costs me all the marbles!” I grumbled mockingly. I sat back on the couch and looked at Dan’s cheesy grin. 

He sat the gamepad down on the coffee table and looked at me. He adjusted how he was sitting on the couch to look me in the eye. He didn’t say anything right away.

“What are you looking at?” I said defensively, but not in a harsh tone. 

“I had a lot of fun with you today,” he continued to grin at me like a total dork.

I couldn’t help but smile. “I did, too.”

We sat there looking at each other for a few seconds. Dan looked away briefly, running a hand through his hair. He looked back at me and reached a hand up to my face. I could feel my pulse quicken as his skin came into contact with mine. He leaned in close, and I had no intention of stopping him. I leaned a little closer to him and looked at his eyes. 

His big brown eyes were darting all over my face from a few inches away. It felt like he was memorizing all the little features of my face. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, to push him away perhaps. I wasn’t planning on it.

“Danny, are you going to kiss me?” I asked, trying to hide how eager I was.

At that, he smiled a little and finally leaned forward to touch his lips to mine. His thumb stroked my jaw gently as I was taken in by his kiss. My hand made its way up to meet his. My fingers curled around his palm as his thumb rubbed small strokes over my skin. 

He pulled away. It was nothing more than a gentle, brief exchange, but I couldn’t deny the feeling I had in my stomach. 

“Wow, can we do that again?” I asked as I allowed my eyes to flutter open. 

Dan grinned and nodded, leaning forward again to present me with a slightly deeper kiss. His free hand came up to my other cheek, while the hand he had already been touching me with curled around the back of my head. 

When we finally pulled away again, Danny smiled at me tenderly. “I have been wanting to do that all day.”

I blushed slightly at his forwardness, “I’m so glad you did.” You lean forward to meet him once again.


End file.
